Waterproof or water resistant clothing has become necessary in locations where the wearer will be subjected to cold and wet conditions. The availability of waterproof or water resistant fabrics for outerwear presents challenges however. Specifically it has proven difficult to create seams in a waterproof or water resistant garment that shares the same or similar water shedding characteristics of the fabrics used in creating the garment. Waterproof fabrics typically contain an outer facing fabric of water repellant material, an inner insulating fabric such as polar fleece, and a hydrostatic barrier material between the inner and outer fabrics. These three layers are typically pressed or laminated together to form a laminated sheet of fabric. The use of laminated fabrics containing a hydrostatic barrier material poses the additional problem of how to join the barrier material across a seam without introducing leak pathways such as those created when the seam is sewn.
A further problem occurs through the use of non-containable fabrics such as fleece or other insulating fabrics, which are difficult to join using an adhesive. Existing methods of joining such fabrics to produce a waterproof seam are unsatisfactory because they result in a bulky, stiff, and unattractive seam. This is because either, during manufacturing of the seam, the hydrostatic barrier is not fully merged across the seam, or because the seams are difficult and time consuming to manufacture. Thus, there remains a need for improved methods and seam designs for creating waterproof seams for outer garments, especially garments made from laminated fabrics containing a hydrostatic membrane and a fleece material.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.